Jonathon wrote:.
>
>Menno Simons and Martin Luther discussed "the tares among the grain"
in an
>interesting exchange of letters. Luther, like Augustine, held that the
field
>referred to the church; Simons held that it referred to the world, or
>society at large. This difference interpretation led to the state
church
>under Luther and the believer's church under Simons. So I find it
amusing,
>as a Mennonite, that I'm sending this email to a Lutheran on the same
>parable, 450+ years later!
>
>"The tares among the grain" is sandwiched between "the parable of the
sower"
>and "the parable of the mustard seed", which is followed by "the
parable of
>the leaven". These other parables talk about reaching out to others
who are
>not believers. Also, at the time Jesus spoke the parable, there was no
church.
But there was at the time Matthew wrote his gospel, reflected in the
fact that he alone of the four gospels uses the term EKKLHSIA in 16:18
and 18:17. I agree, Jonathon, about what you say of the leaven and seed
parables. However, the chapter in Matthew deals uttimately with the
divided response to the proclaimer's task described in chapter 10. How
is the proclaimer to respond to rejection of the message? The two
parables you cite assure him that there will be great response, even
though many refuse. Matthew, to be utterly anachronistic, takes up the
question cur alii, alii non,as problem for the
preacher.
And that is to say that the disjunction you find between Menno Simons
and Martin Luther is a false one, the two views cohering in the use
Matthew makes of the parable discourse. [Did you note, by the way, the
significance of the number seven in counting up the parables?]
Buit thanks for the Menno Simons reference. What goes around comes
around. "There is nothing new under the sun," to cite some profound
text or other a la the author of Hebrews.
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*Edgar Krentz, Prof. of New Testament *
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